Tesla nearly triples land holdings in Nevada

Tesla hasn’t said yet if it plans to expand beyond the battery factory’s original footprint.

By

MikeRamsey

Tesla Motors Inc. has nearly tripled its land holdings in Nevada in recent months, purchasing nearly 2,000 additional acres near Reno as it continues work on a factory intended to build batteries for electric cars and stationary backup batteries.

Tesla
TSLA, -3.27%
originally purchased 1,000 acres in 2014 when it struck a deal to locate outside of Reno in nearby Storey County. But that agreement included options to purchase additional land in a region with relatively little in the way of manufacturing activities.

The land purchases, occurring in April and May, happened during a period when Tesla’s finances are already strained by retooling its assembly plant in California for a new product, building fast-charging stations globally and constructing the battery plant.

Tesla recently received credit lines that could go up to $750 million to buoy its operations. The money is needed as the Silicon Valley electric car maker develops a cheaper lineup of electric cars for release later in the decade.

The majority of the land--1,863 acres--is buffer land, on which Tesla won’t build structures but could place solar arrays to provide power to the plant, a spokeswoman said. The remaining 110 acres is for industrial purposes, though Tesla says it hasn’t planned to expand beyond its original footprint yet.

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